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Volkov
Volkov (Russian: Волков) is a Soviet cyborg supersoldier appearing in Red Alert expansion packs, along with his trusty companion, Chitzkoi. He is the most powerful unit in the game (as of his Counterstrike appearance) and is the greatest commando in Stalin's army. Volkov is playable in four missions throughout the expansions, and in the fifth one, after Allied capture, he becomes a powerful "boss" enemy. Background The exact origins of Volkov are unknown. He is a cybernetic soldier created by Soviet scientists as the ultimate weapon of war, with extremely durable armored plating and equipped with heavy weapons. Storyline As befitting his status as an elite soldier, Volkov was given tasks unsuited to conventional forces. Before full conversion into a cyborg, Volkov was one of the greatest soldiers of the Soviet Union, frequently called upon to carry out top secret assignments that could not be entrusted to anyone. Two most notable of these operations are the stopping of a rogue Soviet faction from unleashing a deadly biological weapon and stealing an experimental Allied vehicle and field testing it against its creators. The latter missions were carried out with help from Chitzkoi, his canine companion. His physical prowess and battlefield expertise made him a natural choice for an experimental augmentation process developed by Soviet engineers. Together with his canine companion, Volkov was turned into a super soldier, a cyborg, capable of taking on entire enemy platoons at a time and survive with only minor damage. His first deployment was in Austria, where he was sent to aid Soviet forces in destroying Allied research into Soviet nigh-invincible armour plating. While Soviet forces besieged the facility, Volkov and Chitzkoi parachuted behind enemy lines to destroy the command center controlling the defenses. When the defenses were disabled the Soviets assaulted and destroyed the facility. The final appearance of Volkov was in the mission Deus Ex Machina, where Allied forces had captured Volkov and wished to learn his secrets, and Soviet forces were sent to stop this. The fate of Volkov can go in two ways: recapturing Volkov before he is excessively tampered with, presumably leading to his decommission, or failing to save Volkov before he goes berserk, where he will fight Allies and Soviets alike until his destruction. Legacy Tiberium Universe Details of the Soviet cybernetics research that create Volkov were taken by the Brotherhood of Nod while preparing plans for world domination. Red Alert Universe After the Second World War, Volkov's Soviet commando role was taken by the Psi-Corps trooper during the Third World War and Boris during the Psychic Dominator Disaster. Natasha Volkova has the female version of his surname. Game Unit Volkov appears in the Counterstrike and Aftermath mission expansion packs for Command & Conquer: Red Alert. His armor type effectively makes him a walking tank, surpassing even the Soviet . In the Counterstrike mission Soviet Soldier Volkov & Chitzkoi he is armed with a cannon and may engage the cruisers encountered on more than equal terms. In Aftermath he appears in multiple missions and is armed alternatively with either the purely anti-infantry gun (presumably armour piercing silenced pistol) or the cannon. The only ground unit that could theoretically take on Volkov is the equally ridiculously well armored Soviet Super tank. But as the only two prototypes were deactivated by the Allies, that is a question that will never be answered. Effective counter to Volkov is anything out of range of his weapon, notably aircraft with anti-infantry weaponry. Artillery can also be used, provided that they are speedy enough to escape or are beyond walking range of Volkov (i.e separated by natural obstacles). In the Soviet's final campaign of Red Alert: Retaliation there is a mission to rescue (or recapture) Volkov from Allied hands. The commander will be given three Scientists: if these scientists are deployed to recapture the fake factory where the Allies have stashed Volkov (and no other obstacle is in the way), Volkov may be returned to the fold again. Oddly enough, perhaps due to the game engine's limitations, Volkov is equally as vulnerable to attack dogs as all other infantry. Behind the Scenes Volkov was supposed to appear again in Red Alert 2 along with other units such as the Mammoth tank, but the idea was eventually scrapped. However, a soldier, supposedly Volkov (although he also resembles a Crazy Ivan) is the main feature of the Red Alert 2 retail box cover art in both beta and final releases. A similar-looking soldier appears on the European covers of the first Red Alert and its expansions. Volkov can be considered a forerunner for Nod's Cyborg Commandos, since both units are ridiculously powerful both in terms of armor and firepower. A Path Beyond appearance Volkov also appears in the A Path Beyond standalone mod of Renegade. There, he is depicted as a cyborg with an eerie-looking artificial human face. He wears an officer's cap and a brown trenchcoat, which conceals his body-armour. He is armed with a high caliber cannon, built into his right arm, which can fire several different types of ammunition, including armour-piercing shells, anti-infantry shrapnel rounds, and napalm grenades. In addition, he also carries a single charge of C4, which can heavily damage buildings if placed on a weakpoint. Compared to his appearance in Counterstrike, Volkov is not as ridiculously powerful in this incarnation, but he is still a deadly soldier capable of massive destruction if left unchecked. Mental Omega Appearance Volkov (along with Chitzkoi) appears in versions 2.0 and beyond in the Mental Omega mod. As of version 3.0, they are the exclusive hero units working for the Russia subfaction, armed with a powerful Tesla cannon capable of arcing between nearby targets and shutting down vehicles for a few seconds. The Dawn of the Tiberium Age Appearance In the Dawn of the Tiberium Age mod, Volkov is the hero unit of the Soviet faction. He is armed with a powerful, long-range cannon for taking out tanks and a silenced sniper for killing infantry. Trivia *An overpowered "boss" enemy concept was reused in the end of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. Gallery RA2_Beta_cover.png|Volkov had a return in the Red Alert 2 cover, but did not appear in-game. This is the preliminary version RA2-cover.jpg|Final Red Alert 2 cover RA2_Volkov_Concept_Art.jpg|Red Alert 2 concept art See also *Boris *Tanya Adams *Yuri Prime (Yuri's Revenge) *Core Defender Category:Soviet Characters Category:Counterstrike Characters Category:Aftermath Characters Category:Counterstrike infantry Category:Aftermath infantry Category:Elite Units Category:Cybernetics